Won a Bronica Setup on Ebay!

[merelyok]

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&item=220303987654

I think i did prettttty well for the price!

# Used Zenza Bronica ETRS Medium Format Camera Kit
# Includes all the following:

* Zenza Bronica ETRS Camera with Prism, and 120 back
* Etr Grip
* 75mm Zenzanon EII f/2.8 Lens w/ hood (hood does not lock)
* 40mm Zenzanon MC f/4 Lens w/ front and rear caps.
* 150mm Zenzanon MC f/3.5 Lens w/ front and rear caps.
* E-28 Teleconverter w/ front and back caps (rear cap is damaged)
* Extra 120 Film Back
* 220 Insert
* Stroboframe (Pro RL)

Paid 265 for it.

On, and its my first time posting here too hello.

Hope my foray into MF goes well.
(currently using a Bessa R3a+ Nokton 40mm1.4/ Rigid Summicron 5cm)

Anyone has experince with the ETRS? The only thing i know so far is that the Zenzanon glass is pretty good.

 

[Nick Zentena]

I've got an ETRSI based setup. Similar lenses.

I like WLF more then prisms.

 

[David A. Goldfarb]

For $265, I'd say you did very well.

 

[Ian Grant]

Exceptionally well.

Ian

 

[milosz]

sounds like a great deal!...why have these gone down so much? hasselblad seem to hold on much better...

 

[Changeling1]

If you don't already know- you'll soon find that Zenzanon glass is second to none.

 

[Nick Zentena]

sounds like a great deal!...why have these gone down so much? hasselblad seem to hold on much better...

I haven't been paying much attention lately but I checked the last KEH catalog when it came. The prices are much higher then last year. Bodies and lenses are both up.

Ebay prices are always a bit of a crap shoot. For every great deal somebody over pays. KEH and the other big dealers tend to be a better mirror on prices.

 

[milosz]

it is as cheap as kiev or alike... i've never owned bronica but by reputation the quality is grand and absolutely comparable to other leading brands. seems like one can get a whole medium format system on "a shoe string" budget...

 

[Cropline]

I purchased a Bronica set-up new and have been totally satisfied.Bronica may be the best kept secret in MF because they aren't as well known as other brands but the quality is certainly there.

merelyok,Google search Bronica.There is a wealth of good info.Bronica was purchased by Tamron so info can be found through them as well.

 

[Andy K]

sounds like a great deal!...why have these gone down so much? hasselblad seem to hold on much better...

Probably because Bronica no longer manufacture, whereas Hasselblad are still in production.

 

[Nick Zentena]

A lot of gear got dumped when Bronica bailed. The flood of gear almost all at once drove prices down. A lot of things were selling for not much more then 10% of the new price.

 

[merelyok]

Thanks for the reply guys.

I've searched, and apparently the Bronica ETRS/i manual can still be found on Tamron's website. The prices of Bronica and Mamiya stuff seem to be on the down, Hasselblads still retain their value; which is much akin to Leica equipment.

Whatever the case is....i'm very excited about this purchase. Cant't wait for it to come in!

 

[Ian Grant]

It's worth remembering that often on Ebay when sellers sell multiple items as a package they lose out, fewer people want all the items. There is still a glut of S/H film camera equipment coming onto the market, and it's a buyers arther than sellers market.

Over the past 8 or 9 years my best bargains have been when buying multiple itemsm even is you don't want everything

Ian

 

[Nick Zentena]

Yup when I bought a Vitax I had to take a century camera with it -)

 

[milosz]

Probably because Bronica no longer manufacture, whereas Hasselblad are still in production.

well, I don’t know…take Plaubel Makina, it is not made for more than two decades and prices are going the other way around…Hasselblad 500 or V series they call it now seems to have reached a dead end as well- I think that they do not make 501cm any longer, 503cw is still there though…it is a bit of a mystery and I started thinking along the lines of quality but as far as I have researched Bronicas have rather fine reputation…

 

[Ian Grant]

It's supply and demand, newer equipment wass made in far larger volumes. So a best selling camera pre WWII was probably around 100,00 units, by the 60's still under a million, but by the 80's & very early 90's.

Plaubel Makina's weren't made in huge volumes and weren't that common anyway, by comparison Mamiya and Bronica cameras were the best selling 645's and 6x6/6x7 cameras.

Ian

 

[milosz]

whatever it is, make no mistake buyer is on the winning side here...

 

[merelyok]

Perceived reputation perhaps?

*shrugs*

 

[r-brian]

I'm just guessing, but I bet the E-28 is an extension tube, not a teleconverter. With the SQa that I own, there are a S-18 and a S-36 extension tube. Extension tubes allow you to focus closer than the lens alone, but do not increase the focal length like a teleconverter would.

 

[Nick Zentena]

E-28 does sound like the tube. There are three tubes.

But there are also teleconvertors. I've never seen it but I know they are out there.

 

[Ole]

That's almost identical to the setup I have. I supplemented with a metering prism when the prices were at the bottom, so I have
ETRS
grip
75mm
150mm
40mm
E28 extension tube (yes, that's what it is)
metering prism
prism
WLF
2x 120 backs
135W back.

Wonderful camera, great lenses.

Enjoy.

 

[wiltw]

sounds like a great deal!...why have these gone down so much? hasselblad seem to hold on much better...

Because Bronica is out of business, Hasselblad is not

 

[wiltw]

I have a very extensive Bronica ETRSi outfit which was purchased new, and used extensively for portrait and wedding work before digital (and Bronica demise) made the used equipment worth a small fraction of the new price. If you have questions, I probably can answer them!

E-28 is the middle size extension tube (14, 28, 42mm) ...I found the E-14 much more useful to have, but then I am not a macro nut. The shortest tube allows me to get closer with the 150mm for tighter headshots, for example.

My gear includes: ETRSi, speed grip, motor winder, AE-III finder, right angle finder, sports finder, WLF, 40mm, 50mm, 75mm, 150mm, 250mm, 45-90mm, 2x convertor, E-14 tube, 120 and 220 backs and inserts, TTL adapter for Metz flash

 

[Q.G.]

Because Bronica is out of business, Hasselblad is not

It already was so before Bronica disappeared.
(Even more so, in fact, but now Hasselblad prices have dropped hugely too.)

The reason?
Bronica is Bronica. Hasselblad is Hasselblad.

 

[Sirius Glass]

merelyok,

Maybe you should be purchasing Hasselblad equipment for me.

Steve